AN: Hey folks! Quick beforehand Author Note to let you know this fiction's name has officially been changed from "R-W-B-Y-S" (or "RWBYS") to "Subversion". Chapters will still be preceded by the title "RWBYS" as they always have, though the official title refers only to the "S" in "RWBYS". Just thought old and new readers ought to know!

For every suggested listening, please visit the InfiniteLooper (Google it). Plug in the suggested listening's URL and you're good to go!

O-o-O

RWBYS
Chapter 16
Chase! Cornered Animals!

-Basin City Center-
-Present, One Week after the attack on Vale, Afternoon-
-Suggested Listening: "Grey Theme", Fairy Tail OST-

We were so not ready.

Ruby's head spun as she landed, her boot heels digging into the sandy layering the street.

Crescent Rose felt heavy in her hands, the weapon warm with use.

Before her was what could only be described as anarchy; Dyr Retter, standing in the center of the road, locking blades with Adam Taurus, both of whom being flanked by Blake and Weiss.

Clinging to the side of a nearby building were Yang and the robotic Peso, locked in a fist fight that was intent on breaking every window within reach (and even some outside that). Above them was Okdes, the Paladin firing down at the robotic combatant in an attempt to give Yang a better opening.

Across the street were Anguis and the bird man from the train, the snake faunus' blade to the throat of a hostage while the birdman's trident was trained on the serpent's back. Before the trio was Francis, who had his rifle trained on all three parties, frozen confusion leaking from his lavender eyes.

There was a pause as each of the three battles wound down to a momentary stalemate.

Silence settled over the streets.

"Y'know…" Sven spoke up, bobbing his chin skyward from his place as Anguis' captive,
"Kinda gettin' sick o' bein' 'eld a'h knifepoin' like this…"

Anguis drew its blade to nick Sven's neck. The boy hissed, gritting his teeth as his aura tried to bound off the damage.

Ruby just stood there, jaw slack, mind racing.

I'm just… confused…

O-o-O

-Beacon Gardens-
-Past, Six Days after the Attack on the Vale, Evening-
-Suggested Listening: "Feel Ambivalence", Code Geass OST -

Francis' feet padded along the stone path, the setting evening sun warm on his cheeks.

Okdes' words still hung in his head after their argument four days ago.

Am I really selfish…? He wondered, combing through his memories.

A few instances rose to the horizon. Yelling at Sven… yelling at Lux… Yelling at… a lot of people, if he were to be honest.

Guess I'm only a little better than a screaming baby… he sighed, his shoulders sagging.

He reached a part in the path where the stone had been cracked and left unattended, the indent of a fist leaving Francis to question what had happened.

Probably someone just as frustrated as I am… he laughed.

And then he froze.

A rustle through the trees; more than wind, less than casual movement. His earthy orbs shot over to the forest. The twilight gave just enough light for his natural night vision to be useless, but not enough for him to see clearly through the foliage.

Great, just great… Better not be that pet of Team JAVL's messing with me… irritates the hell out of me knowing that they let that thing in their dorm in the first place…

He tried to narrow his sight, to peer deeper beyond the façade of bark and leaves, but his concentration was broken by a set of footsteps coming from behind him on the path.

Francis averted his gaze and found the approaching collection of his team, Lux bounding along at the front, Sven and Okdes talking quietly in the back. Once they were in earshot, Lux waved.

"Francy!" the mintette cried, hopping up on his toes.

Francis pinched the bridge of his nose, the sounds in the forest momentarily dragging back his attention.

"Hey… guys…" the faunus said offhandedly, trying to balance his focus. The rustling in the trees died down, but it still made him anxious. He bent down and scooped up a stone from the cracked path, suddenly feeling naked without Lucid Vindicator on hand.

The trio stopped just short of walking into Francis, though Lux did meander a little closer.

"I was thinking that… recent events have caused a rather troubling amount of tension between everyone and that a more relaxing team exercise was warranted…" Okdes noted, shifting uneasily in his more casual clothing. It was unusual to see him without his armor, the man seemingly less imposing without the full getup.

"We're goin' rollerblading!" Lux hopped with a smile, holding up a pair of blue skates by their strings. He held up another pair in his other hand, these ones red with pink laces; Francis' rollerblades. "I… I found these when we were cleaning up the room… I suggested to Oaky that you might want some company on a skate or two," the climber smiled earnestly.

Francis froze, eye twitching.

"You… what?" he asked, lips floundering.

"We found yer skates… an' we wan'ed to go skatin' wit' ya… wen' inta town an' go'h these two idiots a pair," Sven answered, throwing a thumb to Okdes and Lux.

That's… the nicest… the young faunus' brain went into lock up.

And then the rustle came back, a little stronger this time. In an instant he mapped out where the sound was coming from. He took a breath, clearing his mind.

"…Hold that thought…" Francis muttered, squeezing the rock in his hand.

He funneled his aura into the stone, tossing it into the air and catching it to test its weight. Then with a single flick of his wrist he sent it speeding off into the woods, a veritable bullet bathed in a magenta glow. Something in the woods snapped.

"Ow, Goddamnit! Every single time!"

The other three looked towards the forest with confused eyes as more curses and mutterings came from the dark thicket.

"Come out! Now! Or you get pegged again!" Francis yelled, scooping up another rock. However, when he stood back up from his crouch he found his three teammates staring behind him, eyes wide in shock. He raised a brow, "What?"

"Don't worry; we're not here to start anything."

The voice came from behind him. Directly behind him. As in right over his shoulder.

Francis turned and fell with a yelp, landing on his rear as he stood up at the tall, imposing figure. A tall, imposing figure wearing a very, very familiar mask.

N-no… no way… holy shit…

The figure turned to where Francis had thrown the stone, "No use trying to be stealthy anymore, Kitsch!"

From the forest emerged a rather irritated and ruffled faunus, one sporting large pair of midnight-colored wings folded over his back.

"For God's sake, did you have to throw so hard?" the man crowed, rolling his right wing.

Francis didn't give a response, his eyes wavering back to the taller of the pair, the one with fiery red hair.

"Y-you're…" the sheep mumbled, eyes quivering.

Suddenly, he found himself back in that alleyway, the years that life had leached from him returning to that of a childish mind. Fallen silhouettes and the fresh sting of a broken horn burned out of his memories, among them a lone form with a start white mask against the night sky.

"Stand up and keep fighting."

The redheaded man gave him a crooked stare, one of confusion.

"Yo'…" Sven spoke, stepping past the frozen Francis and into the man's face. "Yo're the guys from the train, the ones tha' tried ta steal it!" he seethed, reaching for his guns. His fingers found air and the Islander blanched, freezing face to face with the stranger. "…Well… Someone remind me no'h to leave the dorm wit'out me Claws her'on out…"

The taller redhead had no issue shoving Sven back into the group of his other teammates, "And you're that snotty loudmouth with the peashooters, right? I see you guys made it out okay… that means Blake most certainly made it." The man's words were laced with what Francis could only interpret as relief. The elder faunus relaxed his posture, the bull horns on his head becoming more pronounced as his hair shifted.

"So you're hostiles…" Okdes murmured, the unarmored knight naturally tensing with the implication.

"No, I don't have any plans for you people. I came to see someone," the bull man explained, lifting his head so that they could meet eyes.

"W-who…?" Francis asked, finally finding it in him to stand.

The taller man gave him another quizzical stare before shaking his head.

"An old… acquaintance. I was going to ask for her help on something important."

"You're a threat to Beacon and you thought you could just waltz right in here?" Okdes asked back, brow raising incredulously.

"Look," the man groaned, "I'm not here to hurt anyone. If I tell you who I am, will you relax?"

"'oo's to say yo' won'h lie?" Sven quipped, green eyes digging holes into the blank facemask.

"Trust has to start somewhere, and I'm willing to give you guys the benefit of the doubt you won't turn me over to the cops when I tell you," the bull man responded coolly. His compatriot gave him a weary glance before the man continued, "My name is Adam Taurus, member of the White Fang. I'm here looking for Blake Belladonna on a matter of mutual urgency."

The four Beacon attendees eyed Adam and Kitsch wearily, noting the lack of fear on the leader's face and the unease on his subordinate's. Francis himself felt something reassuring in the Fang member's words, whether it be delivery or the man's familiar voice. He was the first of the four to answer.

"I say we trust him…" the sheep boy voted, craning his neck to his team. Realizing how that may seem to them, as in biased towards the White Fang, he quickly amended it with, "Provided we watch over him and the bird guy while they're here."

The other three shared cautious glances before Lux brightened up, bouncing on his heels once more.

"Well, I think Francis has the right idea," the climber chirped. He cocked his head to the side, "maybe we could even get them to join us in rollerblading!"

Sven just looked at the two, mouth agape, eyes wide and brow twisted. His arm immediately launched to point at Kitsch, "'ee tried ta stab me! Wit' a pitchf'a'rk!"

"It's a trident!" the bird man snapped back, stepping closer to his leader.

"Pleas', yo' make Poseidon cry wh'n yo' call it tha'h!"

"Sven, shut up."

The Islander's mouth immediately closed as Okdes' voice carried out over the flowers. All eyes fell to the team leader, including those behind Adam's mask.

"You give your word that no one will be harmed?" he asked, dichromatic eyes unwavering.

Adam nodded, "Not by my hand or by Kitsch's."

There was a moment of silence, allowing a brisk Autum breeze to sweep past them.

"Make one wrong move and I'll make sure neither of you leave here alive," Okdes stated, turning and walking down the path. "You're looking for Belladonna? Sven, you know the way to RWBY's dorm, take us there."

"Gah, wha'h? Yo' daft?" Sven asked, stumbling up next to him. Francis and the other three began following behind.

"I'm confident. Now show us."

There was no room for argument, though Sven still seemed to protest.

"Well, I wo'ld, though I'd rath'r no'h, but RWBY's ou'h on assignmen'," Sven explained, turning so the others could hear more clearly. "Yo'd 'ave bett'r luck o' findin' 'er by road flare an' smoke signals…"

That caught Okdes' attention. He paused before turning to the redheaded teen.

"Do you know where they are?"

"Sheesh Oaky, yo' shoul' lis'en w'en I invite yo' places. I ask'd if yo'd see 'em off wit' me an tha crew, bu'h yo' were studyin'…" Sven rolled his eyes. "They'r' in Basin last tim' Rubes told me a thin'. Shoul' still be thar lookin fer tha' wolfy from the train."

Francis felt Adam freeze behind him, Kitsch following in kind.

"They're going after Dyr?" he asked, his words quick, panicked. "Shit."

"That a problem?" Okdes asked.

"Dyr's the reason we came. We needed her help to take him down…" Adam explained, fingers rolling together anxiously. "He's… the one who taught me. Not even a full team of hunters can take him down, not alone at least." He gave a nod to Kitsch, jerking his head towards the tree line, "we need to get moving."

"'old it! Where do yo' thin' yer goin'?" Sven asked, dashing in front of the shifting pair.

"We're leaving. We need to get to Blake before Dyr kills her," Adam explained smoothly.

"Just let them go, hothead. They're not going to cause any trouble," Francis said, stepping in.

"An' let Rubble's get ou'numbered w'en 'orn boy an' Mr. McFlapperson 'ere turn ou' ta be a hit squad? 'Ell no!" the Islander shot back.

"We can trust him," Francis gnarled, leveling his eyes dangerously at Sven.

"Well, sorry if I'v' no'h enough fait' in yer brother-in-'orns 'ere. Thes' two tried ta kill us two weeks back, me an' Nikko. I don' take kindly ta that kind o' treatment!"

Francis's skin flared in a hot flush of fury with the way Sven referred to Adam and him in such a derogatory way.

"For God's sake, can't you two go seven minutes without being at each other's throats?" Okdes asked, stepping in between the four posed figures. "Sven, you've got to watch the way you go off the handle like that, it's annoying as hell and keeps landing you in trouble!" the leader snapped, Sven flinching in response.

Francis was about to make a snide remark to follow up the knight's, but he soon found himself on same end of the tirade.

"And you need to keep priorities straight. I will not have myself or my team become responsible for putting other students in harm's way without doing everything I can to prevent it," the Paladin huffed. "Sven's right in that regard… though he could have explained in a calmer manner. I only agreed to lead them to RWBY while supervised… and that stands; we're going with them."

Again, there was a freeze in the conversation.

"…You're kidding…" Francis gawked.

"If what they're saying is true, RWBY will need all the backup they can get. If they're lying… well… RWBY will certainly need backup…" Okdes explained. He turned to Sven, "Are you fine with that?"

The Islander grit his teeth before shaking his head, "Must've been a reason fate paired me wit' yo'…" Sven sighed, lifting his head to show a tired smile, "Yer crazier than I'yam…" The boy laughed and looked to the sky, "Take it, means we'll be skippin' class's fer the rest o' the week?"

Okdes gave an approving cough, "Goodwitch'll have my hide in a sling after this, but yes, I suppose it does." He nodded to Lux and Francis, "No arguments I hope."

The pastel duo shared a look, one pleading and hopeful from Lux, the other more incredulous and scared. After a few passing seconds, the two returned their stares to Okdes and gave weak nods. The leader smiled.

"Excellent. Adam, Kitsch," Okdes noted, looking to the pair of White Fang members. "You'll be following us back to the dorms while we prep, and then we'll all be heading out to help."

Adam gave a firm nod, the man seemingly at ease with the young hunter taking the amount of control that he had. His compatriot, on the other hand, didn't seem to be taking it that well. For lack of a better phrase, he appeared to be a bird in a cage the way he glared at the three human huntsmen. A look of disgust even managed to pass his features when he glanced at Francis.

"Forward march," Okdes commanded, nodding in the direction of the dorms.

And with that, they began the first steps of their trek.

O-o-O

-VAF Intrepid-
-Past, Six Days after the Attack on the Vale, Ninety Minutes Later-
-Suggested Listening: "New Beginning", by Audiomachine-

"Hey Francy?"

"What, Lux?"

"When did we get on an airship?"

Francis' eye twitched, but he kept himself composed. Letting something as trivial as Lux's memory get under his skin after all this time would have landed him in prison if he hadn't learned how to remain calm.

"It's… a long story…"

The VAF Intrepid had been quite the steal… literally. It had been an odd situation; upon arriving at the landing pads they'd discovered that all forms of common air transportation had been signed out or otherwise taken, save for one Bullhead and the small fleet of airships, in part owned by Beacon, in part owned by Vale.

To complicate matters, both team CDLE and team JAVL had been present at the flight deck, eager to leave on their own adventure. What that was, however, had been left to mystery; each team kept their intentions with the air vehicles vague, especially since they all acknowledged they were taking the vehicles at dusk with no official permissions to leave campus.

Ultimately, it had been decided that JAVL and CDLE would commandeer the last Bullhead together, while FOSL and their tagalongs opted for one of the many airships. Sven had explained that he knew a little of the legal workings between Vale and Beacon from his father's attorney work. Taking one of the Vale-owned, but Beacon rented airships would apparently produce enough paperwork and headaches to received dropped charges. Put in the fact that Adam had agreed to act as the fall man for the situation as their 'kidnapper', and the group was pretty confident that FOSL would get out of the scenario relatively unharmed. Also, more space for RWBY to recover if things went south (as they so often did).

Francis watched as the last lights of Vale disappeared below, the dark sea taking over the scenery as they flew. He'd overheard Sven saying that if they maintained speed they'd keep the sun ahead of them until they reached Basin.

Sven was coming in all forms of useful this trip, what with his legal knowledge and apparently his flight training. Well, relative flight training. Everyone knew the workings of a basic Bullhead, but only Sven touted a few minutes flying a traditional airship during a festival in Islet. As such, he was the 'captain' of their journey, though mostly because he was the only person crazy enough to take the wheel.

Francis turned around on the railing, looking inward around the captain's level of the airship. It was much like the passenger deck, open and spacious, with a few noticeable changes. There were nicer seats laid around the walls for VIPs, a few extra refreshment stands (that didn't require any type of fund transfer, which Francis found irritatingly elite) and the most prominent feature was that of the captain's wheel, which was a full panel placed near the head of the ship, next to the spanning pane of windows.

Sven and Okdes were firmly perched at the consoles, busy keeping the ship afloat and moving as the Islander steered. At their side was one noticeably anxious bird faunus. Directly across from where Francis and Lux leaned was the slouched form of Adam Taurus, his hands wrapped around the observation railing.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Lux begin to open his mouth. Francis preempted it with a wave of his hand, "Too long of a story to explain right now… not that you'd remember how it began when I finished, anyway…"

Lux's mouth closed and Francis smiled. He moved off the window's banister and started towards the middle of the room.

"And, for what it's worth," he paused mid-step, "thanks for thinking of me earlier, with the skating idea… it meant a lot…"

With that he left Lux to simmer in his own muddled memories.

It took him only moments to cross the expanse and arrive at Adam's side.

The man started speaking before Francis could even articulate a thought.

"I've been trying to place where we've met before. An alleyway, wasn't it? About eight or nine years back in Menagerie?"

"Seven, at this point," Francis recalled smoothly, fingers instinctively inching towards his stumped horn. "I'm surprised you remember."

The bull faunus gave a deep chuckle.

"Hard to forget a kid with pink hair," the man scoffed. "You're doing well for yourself," he motioned towards Beacon, towards Vale.

"Yeah, well, I never forgot your advice. It's helped me through a lot…"

Adam shook his head.

"That's good to hear. You looked like you needed it… And I think the friends you have because of it seem like a good batch."

"Yeah, well, we didn't exactly start that well… Okdes was easy enough to get along with… but Sven and Lux weren't… still aren't exactly the easiest to be around…" Francis explained. "Hell, when I first met Sven I blew up on him simply because he was wearing his getup in the middle of summer. Guess I just assumed it was him going for flare and that pissed me off comin' from nothin'… We still haven't exactly gotten over it either."

"Keeping personal grudges isn't a smart move…" Adam responded solemnly.

"Doesn't help that he's a smartass. Him being likable is one of those notions I just find crazy…" Francis scoffed.

"Agreed… he doesn't seem exactly like the most receptive person on the planet… he hate faunus or something, because I'm pretty sure he's been giving me and Kitsch death glares anytime he looks near us…" the bull asked, scratching his chin.

"I don't think seeing CDLE or JAVL at the airship dock did him any favors. He's not exactly been on the best of terms with them. And from what I hear, he didn't enjoy the train thing all that much… But I don't think he's racist… he just doesn't have a good filter for his mouth…"

"I see…" Adam cracked his neck. "And your other friend… Lux. What makes him so intolerable?"

"His damned memory's always on the fritz… couple that with him being an airhead, I'm surprised he's still breathing, let alone a hunter-in-training…" Francis explained, pinching the bridge of his nose. He groaned and looked out over the empty seas, an image that gnawed on an vacant part of his stomach, "but I guess they're harmless… A hardass, a smartass and a dumbass…" Another sigh followed, this one more wistful.

"I'm jealous," the Fang member noted, his voice heavier with thought.

"How so?" the sheep faunus asked, cocking his neck to the side, confused.

"You need to savor this, even if they get on your nerves… You never know when you're going to run out of friends."

Francis was silent, waiting for the older man to continue. Thankfully, the terrorist caught the silent implication and began talking again.

"I haven't had a friend for a very long time. The last one I did… There's a reason I'm going out of my way to find Blake," he stated very matter-of-factly.

"Kitsch isn't your friend?"

"He's an idealist," Adam huffed, leaning further onto the bar and resting the tip of his mask against the window. "He means well, but I don't… trust him. We've only been partners a short while, and that's not exactly worked out perfectly."

"Doesn't… doesn't the White Fang need idealists?" Francis fidgeted, uncomfortable with the direction the conversation was taking.

"…I'm not sure anymore…" Adam sighed, leaning back from the window. "They're good for filling out rosters, but more and more I see them making the biggest mistakes… see myself making the biggest mistakes…" the man shook his head. He turned to Francis and stared, his neutral expression delving into a frown, "You're not the person I should be having this conversation with… I'm going to go lie down, we have quite a flight ahead of us."

Francis watched as his hero strolled away, towards the crew compartments. The tall man kept walking, but his voice harkened back to the faunus boy, "Anyway, thanks for standing up for me and Kitsch. I'll get you back for that, I promise."

The sheep boy's brow furrowed with everything that had just been laid bare to him. Seeing someone he admired be stricken with such inner turmoil didn't rest well in his gut.

"Or isss sheep-faunus-boy having sssecond thoughtsss about hurting his own kind?"

He shook his head of the memory, waving those slit pupils away. Feeling some fatigue from the entirety of the previous day beginning to wear on him, he sussed out a place to set himself for some well deserved rest. A bench of cushioned seats along a gradient window made his bed for the ride, his disquieted thoughts eventually being drowned out by the lull of the airship and the black fog of sleep.

O-o-O

-Sonnegift Chemicals, Basin-
-Past, Seven Days after the Attack on the Vale, Morning-

"So, what you're saying is that you've been stolen from…" Ruby noted slowly, edging her words carefully.

The man behind the desk nodded, raking his fingers through the feathery quills of his slicked back black hair, "To be honest, we've been receiving reports that our stores have been dwindling in the last few years, but it was always on such a microscopic level that we never gave it any thought." The man, Adelie Sonnegift, swiveled in his chair, addressing a small blue screen behind him to his left. He continued, "It never occurred to us that what we were missing could be used to make such vitriolic poisons. Very clever indeed." The CEO adjusted his monocle, thumb brushing his penciled nose. "Troubling to hear it's a faunus as well. Garnering a good reputation is much harder than many think, I suppose," he mused.

"We take it then that we'll have your full support in our investigation?" Weiss spoke up. She was seated in the second plush chair before the worn wooden desk of the cramped, lush office, her fingers curled around the edge of her white petticoat. Ruby hummed in agreement from the sister chair of the room, Blake and Yang both nodding in tandem standing behind the furnishings. The 'business casual' outfits they wore put Ruby ill at ease; while she still wore her cloak, she wasn't use to the black button up shirt, missing the firm support of her blouse, corset, and skirt combo.

Sonnegift returned his gaze to them, standing to his full, admittedly short, height before extending a pudgy hand. With the other he straightened his white dress shirt and his black blazer.

"My databases are at your disposal," he said as Ruby shook his hand. "I'll direct you to Pred Vud, our key shipment consultant. His reports would be the most detailed. He should actually be on hand today…" the man mumbled, picking up the phone.

"That'd be great," Ruby smiled. A genuine one.

It had been harder to smile in the last few days. Not that she didn't smile anymore but concern for teammates was still something constantly present. Weiss would visibly flinch anytime Ruby tried to give her friend a hug around the shoulder during lighthearted conversation, and she didn't fail to notice Yang avoiding the crown of her scalp while brushing her mane of hair every morning.

While she knew they'd all recovered physically 100%, the trauma had left them all deflated. It was rare that the girls had ever been beaten, and when it counted most they'd been curb-stomped to the point of breaking. Those flashes of mortality, of being powerless to stop fate…

Ruby shivered in her seat. She didn't need to dwell on that.

Instead, she chose to force it. Force laughing, force jokes, force happiness. Something of an old trick she'd learned from Sven; if you keep doing it, you'll trick yourself into thinking it's true. She wasn't sure if any of her teammates were buying it quite yet, but she wasn't going to give up on that strategy until she was good and dead.

"That's odd…" Sonnegift mumbled, setting down the phone.

"Sir?" Weiss spoke up, leaning forward slightly on her perfectly folded hands.

"I've been out of the office the last few days, but apparently Mr. Vud has called in sick on multiple occasions this week. Seems he's come down with something dreadful…" the man muttered, fingering his hair.

The four girls immediately looked to one another, brows cross in similar nervous expressions. Ruby swallowed and angled back towards the CEO.

"Mr. Sonnegift… c-could we get Mr. Vud's address? We can try and catch him when he's not so ill and talk about this face to face…" she asked, fingers pulling at the fabric of her leggings.

The man scratched his chest, unease entering his eyes, "Well… that's… not exactly information I feel comfortable sharing…" He exhaled, and pulled up a list on a nearby data pad. "However… in light of the circumstances… and assumptions I can no doubt see you four making…" Sonnegift's finger lingered over a button on the pad. His voice dropped low, "…Ladies, he hasn't come in or called in in the last three days…"

Without another word, he pressed the button. Ruby's pad immediately sparked to life, a few jarring chords of a retrofitted song-turned-chime ringing to the room. All eyes on Ruby, no one noticed how Weiss sat stick-straight in her seat, cheeks flushing.

Ruby looked at her scroll and the newly acquired information, before returning to Mr. Sonnegift.

"We'll make sure he's okay, sir. I believe it's best if we get on our way as soon as possible."

"Understandable, Ms. Rose. You and your fine compatriots, I feel you shall all find the end to this ball of twine. Unto that, contact me should you need something else from me, my resources are open for your investigation!" the man exclaimed waving his arms graciously.

Ruby nodded to her team. Blake and Yang exited first, quickly followed by Ruby and a now standing Weiss.

The heiress caught pace with Ruby and slowed her partner down as they maneuvered around the corridors to the exit.

"'Mirror, Mirror', really?" Weiss hissed, so the other two couldn't hear.

Who was she kidding; Blake could probably hear every word.

"What? I have little customized ringtones for everyone. You're just luck yours is based on a song you recorded," Ruby explained, smiling.

Weiss frowned, "Then why did it just…?"

"Oh, I have it set to my default too," the red-head answered, grin growing larger. "It's my favorite! Never get sick of hearing it, though it's nowhere near as good as the actual song. Chime-covers aren't all that great, they get so harsh and cringy, but I can live with them if they're short enough-…"

"Ruby, stop talking," Weiss snarled, finger tips at her forehead, cheeks beet red.

"Sorry," Ruby eeped, hiding her chin behind her (transparent) scroll.

"It's… fine. Thanks for the compliment," Weiss sighed, walking ahead of her leader.

Ruby just scratched her head and followed behind.

O-o-O

-Cerulean Desert Condos, Basin-
-Past, Mid-Morning-
-Suggested Listening: "Suspense", Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies OST-

"Oh no…" Ruby muttered.

Fire filled her vision. The fire of Mr. Vud's condominium complex.

The girls looked up at the skyscraper, its twentieth floor alight with licking orange and reds. Behind them was a single fire engine, the only one to have made it by the moment the girls had arrived. Apparently the inferno had only just started minutes before. The crew was working diligently to deploy rescuers and hoses, but their efforts were going far too slowly for the cloaked girl.

"Yang, talk to the receptionist, see what floor Vud lives on," Ruby barked, pulling out Crescent Rose.

"You don't think…?" Yang paused, looking at her sister, stricken.

"I do, this is too much of a coincidence," Ruby nodded. "No go, and don't come back till you have his room number!"

Yang was off, into the bottom floor of the still evacuating building.

"Weiss, Blake, we're varying up Slingshot Snowflake," the leader explained. The monochrome duo nodded and followed orders attentively. "Blake, as normal!"

Blake nodded and rushed the building. As she had during her fight with the man, she wall jumped into the sky, off a contingent of her shadows, reaching a max height. The catgirl wrenched her arm forward and lodged Gambol Shroud's main body into the building's seventh floor concrete frame. She slid down the attached ribbon, the elastic nature pulling the band taut. As she closed her distance to the ground Ruby and Weiss jumped, anchoring her down.

In accordance with the plan Weiss grabbed Shroud's band, the combined strength of the three girls barely enough to hold it down. Surprise shot through Weiss demeanor when she felt Ruby also grip the band.

"Weiss, get ready to douse the fire, Blake, I'm giving her extra oomph on the way up. Any questions?" Ruby asked.

There was a pause before Weiss spoke.

"Yes; why aren't we using the elevator?"

Ruby grinned, "Not supposed to during fires. Besides; this is way more fun."

Weiss scowled, but sighed with resignation, "You get me killed, you'll be the one answering to my father…"

Ruby just chuckled and Blake rolled her eyes.

The leader's hands bounced the string with a few strong tugs, "On my count! One, two, three!"

And with that Blake released the band. Weiss and Ruby jumped, the duo sailing into the sky as the black strip rebounded.

Ruby slung Crescent Rose downwards as they neared the peak of their jump. Her finger rested on the trigger of her weapon, her aura flaring just before she activated her semblance.

A few moments before they touched the apex Ruby let go of the string and quickly looping her freed hand around her partner. Weiss, following the silent motion, let go as well. The leader let her semblance blast, the two sending them careening higher and higher, accompanied by a few well timed shots of Crescent Rose.

The inferno of the twentieth came up on them in the span of moments.

"NOW!" Ruby screamed, letting go of Weiss.

The heiress spun in mid-air, Myrtenaster having been drawn and poised long before they'd made the leap. Ice dust chambered, Weiss spun, unleashing a torrential blizzard into the flames and quelling the outermost part of the blaze.

Ruby continued past Weiss before she twisted and unloaded a shot to slow her ascent. She let herself drop and primed the last round of her magazine as she spun it to face perpendicular to the building.

Her partner maintained her position by summoning and hoping off one of her own glyphs, giving Ruby just enough time to fall perfectly in line.

Drifting behind Weiss, Ruby pulled the trigger and blasted both of them through the window of the building, smashing through the new layer of ice and the old layer of glass with very little effort.

Ruby winced as the shards bit into her, the body of her cloak taking most of the blow as she shielded herself and Weiss inside its warm confines. The two skidded to a halt inside the building, rubble, dust and ash settling over them.

Hesitation did little to impede them as the two unwound themselves and stood, weapons readied. They didn't spend any time admiring the interior of the burned-out room and instead dashed towards the door to the hall. With a swipe of Crescent Rose the barrier wasn't a problem.

Staggering into the hall both of the girls were beset by thick billowing smoke and the acrid smell of burning carpet. Down the entire length of the hall was a raging fire storm, cries from residents panicking deafened by roaring flame.

Ruby stepped back, allowing Weiss to turn on her heels and whisk Myrtenaster toward both ends of the hall. A shower of glistening frozen crystals snatched the flames of their heat, turning the corridor into a prismatic tunnel.

The younger of the two stepped forward brandishing a fresh magazine of ammunition. The cloaked girl fled to the end of the hall and sliced through the thicket of ice and metal to open the door to the stairs. Weiss ducked back into the condo as Ruby braced herself up against the glass of the condo's full-sized hallway window, her boot leaving a black imprint on the clear material.

Ruby channeled her aura, summoned her semblance, and pushed. In seconds her speed cleared her across the hall, all the while her blade had been spinning full-tilt, slashing at the walls and, more importantly, the doors. She came to a stop at the opposite end of the passage, her opposite foot resting on the matching window.

A pause followed; the fire raging behind closed doors and the sounds of outside traffic the only things breaking the silence… and then every one of those same closed doors slid into pieces on the floor.

Ruby turned from the window, coughing through the smoke, "Everyone out! We'll take care of the rest of the fire!"

She bashed open the window behind her, letting some of the murky clouds escape into the crisp morning air.

With that, Weiss popped her head out the door and joined Ruby as the two dashed between rooms, giving echoes of the leader's call. A handful of people fled at Ruby's first shout, but the girls discovered, among many of the still burning condos. Helping those that had been trapped, be it by fire, by physical obstruction or by fear, the pair doused what little of the fire remained. It was disheartening, though, to find a few charred bodies among the rooms. Ruby did her best to restore some form of decency to the deceased by getting her hands on some sheets and draping them over the corpses.

A small period of downtime occurred as a few fire fighters filtered up the stairs, prepared to do exactly as the huntress duo had. Ruby politely explained that she and Weiss had the situation handled and that they would probably be better off calming down the evacuees.

Weiss huffed as she wiped a smudge of black grime off her jacket, sheathing Myrtenaster at her waist.

"My drycleaner is going to be a very wealthy man after today…" she remarked bitterly, glaring at Ruby.

The raven-haired girl gave an embarrassed chuckle and rubbed the back of her head, "heh, sorry… but hey! The fire's out and everyone's safe!"

Weiss crossed her arms, deadpan dripping across her face, "Yes, it only took me freezing half the building to do that… You didn't have to turn away the fire department when they got up here. It was rather rude considering they were just doing their jobs."

"Or…" Ruby noted, drawling her note, "you could look at it as getting people out of the way of our investigation…" the girl paused, her playful smile drooping. "Actually, that still sounds pretty bad…"

"Exactly," Weiss replied, walking past her partner with her chin held high. "Besides, I have a theory as to what caused this already," she explained, bending down and scrapping at a few pieces of melting ice. She frowned, the dimples on her cheeks sagging. "I can't be one hundred percent sure, but I would probably wager this was a red dust bombing…"

"'Red dust bombing'?" Ruby asked, cocking her head to the side as her partner scoured through the wreckage.

"Just a phrase, though the red dust bit is most accurate. What someone does is loop red dust into the ventilation system that leads to their target, ignite it at the far end and 'boom'; no more target, no more other rooms, doesn't look normal but doesn't look suspiciousm" the heiress stood and patted herself off, soggy soot dripping off her coat. "That would explain why all the rooms were on fire even with the doors closed and why some of the windows had blown out."

"Wouldn't that have killed everyone?" the cloaked girl questioned, sliding up next to Weiss.

Weiss shook her head as she turned to Ruby, "No, unless they were in the direct path of the initial blast. Usually it's used more to clear buildings or suffocate people… but mainly it corroborates your worry about this being linked to Vud… it's a favorite to destroy incriminating documents. The White Fang loved to do it when my family got incriminating documents on some of their undercover operatives…" The heiress strutted over to another section of melting ice, grounding her heel into it, scratching at the layer of ash below it, "Of course we developed ways to prevent attacks like that, but they're more costly than most places can afford when it comes to standard security."

Ruby nodded, pulling out her scroll. There was a message from Yang, one that she'd received during their rush to douse the fire.

'Room 2014'

Ruby exhaled.

"Nail in the coffin…" she muttered, showing Weiss the message.

The snow princess read the line before bobbing up towards the room at the far corner of the building.

"Ruby… I found a body in that room… On the bed…"

Ruby took a deep breath as her terminology came back to bite her.

"Well…" she began, stepping forward. "Can't let a little thing like that stop us now…"

The two swallowed and made their way into the room. They found themselves at the foot of the man's bed, a freshly burned corpse sprawled on its ash-buried sheets.

Silence dawned on them as they stared at it.

"Poison…" Ruby muttered, deciding to kneel next to the body and give it a more thorough examination.

The skin was molted and peeled back from the flames, however it seemed there was very little in the way of blood or any other fluids. The whole body seemed unnaturally intact.

"He died before the fire came through here…" she continued, timidly worming her fingers through his charred clothes. She winced as several pieces of skin flaked off on her, but she persisted. Alas, her frisk yielded nothing of service, aside from a wallet that had been left untouched. "At least we know this is Vud now…" she mused, looking at the burned, almost indistinguishable face.

"Ruby over here," Weiss called. The leader turned to her partner just as her scroll rang. She answered it and pulled a small earpiece from her pocket, putting it on her lobe and following after Weiss with her hands free.

"Yang, how're you and Blake holding up?" she asked as she crouched next to the heiress.

Weiss pointed to a hole in the carpet, a section that had been thinner and burned away. A metal square sat beneath it, decorated with tiny bolts, a thin crease along its outer edge, and a hard to see keypad. The two looked at each other, before Ruby nodded for Weiss to crack it.

"Doin' good down here sis, though the fire department didn't seem all that happy that we're involved…" Yang's voice crackled through.

Ruby blanched and quickly covered the small mic in order to keep her voice quiet, "I know, I know, Weiss already scolded me for it…" She paused, swallowing before speaking further, "We found a safe in Vud's room… Weiss is opening it now."

"Th-… fou-… sa-… or-…?"

A strange static flowed through her ear bud.

"Yang, you there?"

"Yeah, radio went all wonky there for a sec…" her sister replied.

Ruby furrowed her brow.

"Ruby!" Weiss beckoned from where she kneeled.

The cloaked girl slid over to her, finding the girl beginning to stand with what looked like a datapad.

"Can you crack it?" Ruby asked.

Weiss flicked the screen a few times before bobbing her head side-to-side and smiling, "I'll need some time back at the hotel, but I'm sure this isn't anything I can't handle."

It was good to see Weiss smirking.

"Yang," Ruby started, "the only thing in the vault was a data pad. We're going to check things up here a little bit more, but there's not much left…"

"Da-pa-… Ord-? Ta-… -ot… Rog-… an' out."

Ruby winced as another round of static burned into her ear, so much so that she flinched and pulled out the bud.

"Ruby, you okay?" Weiss asked, looking at the headphone with quizzical eyes.

Then the small datapad in Weiss's hand exploded. The bullet that broke it barely missed both of the girls, embedding itself in a nearby wall. They froze, stock still, eyes wide. Ruby was having the worst of the scare, an image of Weiss being the target instead and being shot through the sternum flash over her vision.

Fragments of the device dropped from Weiss' grip, her hand bleeding from where the glass had bitten into skin. She tackled Ruby to the ground out of sight of the now very exposing broken condo window. They skidded to a halt behind an adjoining wall. A distant crack and a hole appeared just behind where the cloaked girl had been standing.

Both their breaths were panicked, scared eyes gazing back and forth. Ruby rested a trembling arm on Weiss' shoulder.

"Thanks f-for the save."

"I'm not having you go back on your promise, you dunce!" Weiss sputtered, standing and pulling Ruby up with her. "It's been barely a week and you're already trying to break it!" the girl's teeth chattered as she spoke, her right hand rubbing her throat.

Ruby smiled, flashing her pinky to Weiss before picking up a chip of ice and poking it around the corner. The reflection wasn't the best, but it was all Ruby could think of in the moment.

"There, three stories up from us on the opposing building. Think we can get them?" Ruby asked.

Weiss' shaken posture straightened and a satisfying breath was all the girl needed to recompose her confidence. "A Schnee doesn't 'think'… a Schnee knows…" the heiress replied with a small smile.

Ruby smiled back and threaded her mic back into her ear. "Yang, we've got eyes on long-range combatant. We're moving to engage! They're twenty-third story of the building to the East. Make sure the civilians are safe and get someone up here to recover the pieces of a shattered datapad."

"Roger that Rubes. Watch yourself up there… and I guess the Ice Princess too, God knows she needs it…"

Ruby smiled. Yang was cracking jokes.

Okay… good, things are normal… well… not normal-normal, but battle-normal… No big baddies to beat us, just a person with a sniper rifle… And I bet I'm a better shot…

"Ice Wall Arrow Slit!" Ruby shouted, rounding the corner. Weiss skidded to her side, pulling up a large intricate glyph that covered them both. As expected, the moment they popped from cover the enemy sniper opened fire.

Hot led pinged off Weiss's energy projection, warping in direction and slamming into other sections of the room. Ruby watched carefully, pinpointing the sniper's location.

"Break!" Ruby shouted. An inner ring of Weiss' glyph vanished, giving the spinning shield a slit through which the Beacon student could fire.

Down the scope Ruby could make out the glint of a long, bulky rifle and the drapings of a heavy overcoat. She squeezed the trigger and a single shot rung out between the buildings. Through her magnified optics she watched as the man's rifle jerked to the side and flew out off his hands and out the window he was perched on. He turned to run.

-Suggested Listening: "Mombasa", 2Cello Cover-
-Alt Listening: "Mombasa", Inception OST-

"Suspect on the move heading East through the building, we're in pursuit!" Ruby barked.

Weiss dropped her glyph and the two rushed for the lip of the window. The leader slammed in a fresh magazine and took a running leap in tandem with Weiss.

The red and white duo went flying into the artificial city canyon, their weapons glinting in the mid-morning sun. Weiss was the first to act, summoning a platform for the two to land on. Ruby was next, using the platform as a bounding stage for her trademark speed boosts. She whipped Crescent Rose behind her, grabbed Weiss around the waist, and blasted them the rest of the way towards the building.

Once close enough Ruby twisted her arms and slammed her scythe's blade into the side of the high-rise, about four stories down from where the sniper had been. Weiss matched this with another glyph, one that gave the two a comfortable standing space as Ruby repositioned her barrel downwards. Another boost and the two were propelled up to the spot where the sniper had been. The two rolled onto the concrete floor, quickly scanning the floor. It was being renovated, and as such was covered in tarps and crumbled walls.

Ahead of them was the shrinking figure of the assailant, scuttling into the early-morning shade.

"I'll cut him off, you follow from behind!" Ruby ordered, dashing forward.

"Mis-… -promised… Re-… -sistance…"

She winced as another burst of static swarmed in her ear. To her surprise though, the end bit seemed to echo in the room around her. It only took her a minute to figure out what was going on.

They hacked our scrolls… they hacked our comms!

It took her just five good strides to whip past the fleeing man and point the business end of her rifle down his throat.

The heavily clothed man responded by slipping out a dual set of daggers from under his coat. The right dagger came up to knock Crescent Rose to the side and the left moved to slice Ruby's throat.

She recoiled, spinning her scythe upwards while stepping to the man's side. She angled herself so that the flat of her blade bashed into his face. He staggered back and leveled the hilt of one of his daggers at her. Apparently the grips doubled for pistols, much like Gambol Shroud. He pulled the trigger and a burst fire of bullets whizzed at the girl.

Ruby contorted herself to the side, allowing her aura to more efficiently deflect the projectiles. Using the corkscrew as a new point of inertia, she brought the blade down to the man's side intent on blocking him off from his route of escape towards the nearest bank of windows.

In her peripheral she caught Weiss sliding at an alarming speed towards the man, Myrtenaster a blinding purple and poised to strike. The man raised his other pistol knife to fire a second volley in quick succession, but the heiress met him first, driving her rapier through his stomach.

The man didn't so much as flinch as the blade slid smoothly through his clothing and not much else. Weiss, prepared for a solid body to stop against, slammed into his frame. He stumbled only slightly, but it more or less had the effect of running the young Schnee face-first into a brick wall. Luckily, his stumble was enough to cause him to trip over Crescent Rose's length, so he too was thrown prone.

Ruby yanked the scythe free and quickly brought it down on the man, intending to trap him under the rear hook of her weapon. Instead he countered by lifting his knives and blocking the blow, holding the two at a stalemate, errant sparks flashing from their weapons every few moments.

"Yer good girly, I'll give ya that… Eheheheh… Good weapon you've there, isn't it? Mind if I ask a buyin' price?" the man asked, smile evident through his voice.

That accent… those clothes and weapons all match…

"Sorry, Peso, she's not for sale," Ruby leveled, her voice straining from physical exertion.

"A shame," he said. And with that, a spark of fire erupted from his boots, burning away the pants around his ankles. Ruby stumbled as the man slipped out from under her, his body being flung towards the nearest window. He flipped midair and landed on his feet, facing the girl. "Would've been a nice addition to my collection!" Peso cackled.

With that he smashed the window and fell out of the building with a wave.

"Oh no you don't!"

A cold breeze rushed past Ruby as Weiss glided out the window. The heiress did a front flip, Myrtenaster turning red. She flicked the weapon forward and a scatter of crimson beams arced out from it, vanishing bellow the ledge just before the white hair girl followed suit.

Ruby took off after them, leaping out of the window.

Under her Weiss and Peso sparred back and forth, the heiress summoning glyph after glyph to slow her descent and interrupt her opponent's. Peso, for what it was worth, managed to elude slamming into the girl's walls, the jets on the back of his legs tossing him forward and backwards in controlled, evasive spurts.

However, while Weiss' barrage of energy lances and glyphs kept him distracted, he failed to keep his wits about him. To wit, as he passed the tenth floor the window exploded and a single fiery shell sent him hurtling onto the roof of the parallel seven-story building.

Ruby tumbled, falling just behind Weiss. With a few well placed glyphs and shots from Crescent Rose, the duo landed on the tenth floor at the feet of one Yang Xiao Long.

"Boohyah, gonna have to call solo victory on that one sis," Yang laughed, cocking back Ember Celica.

Both Ruby and Weiss were doubled over, panting and glaring at the excitable blonde.

"He's…" Ruby huffed, "he's slippery… Probably… not out for the count."

The leader stood to her full height and wiped her brow. The arid Basin heat wasn't doing her many favors, especially in the monkey suit that Weiss had forced her into for meeting Sonnegift. Though, to be fair, she also didn't have that many sets of clothing for warmer climates thanks to Vale's sea-side nature, so she'd be screwed either way.

"Oh, don't worry, I accounted for 'slippery'," Yang grinned, nodding to the rooftop across the way where Peso had landed. The man-bot was locked in a desperate struggle with a very familiar girl wearing a rather noticeable bow. "C'mon, before we miss all the fun!" Yang cheered, throwing on her aviators and leaping out the window.

The two winced as the buxom beauty fired off a few explosive shells to launch herself at the other building.

"Have I mentioned I hate your sister?" Weiss grumbled, crossing her arms.

Ruby took a final breath and smiled, "I lost count. Though to be fair I've just kinda tuned out everything you say at this point; it's always nagging so why listen?"

She received a jab for the jibe, wincing as the heiress decked her shoulder and shot her a stiff glare.

"Oh, come on Weiss," Ruby laughed.

The two walked towards the edge. Ruby hung back before shoving the white haired girl forward, yelling, "Ladies first!"

It was enough to send Weiss stumbling over the edge.

"RUBY, YOU DUNCE!" was all the cloaked girl could hear before Weiss instinctively propelled herself towards the battling Blake and Peso. Ruby caught another glare and waved with a smile before following after her teammates, launching herself recklessly out of the building and across the street.

Once she reached the roof, she expected to meet her friends. Instead she met the business end of an axe head.

Ruby was clothes-lined as she finished her crossing, skidding to a painful halt at the concrete barrier of the building. She kicked out her legs and activated her semblance, softening the impact, but still doing little to reduce the overall pain that bolted through her bones. Her bruised face craned upwards to find a set of pointed ears and burning hazel eyes.

"Well," Dyr spoke, downing the rest of a bottle of whiskey, "if it ain't the power rangers."

Ruby's heart sank, immediately recalling the fight on the train and how the man had held them off when they had superior numbers.

He was also wearing a suit very similar to the man from the council chambers.

Okay, he's definitely involved… and definitely going to kills us… she gulped, staggering to her feet. No, don't think like that. We'll get him, stay positive.

The wolf faunus threw the bottle to the tar rooftop, glass shattering across the black surface.

"Ruby!"

The cry came from Ruby's right, where the remainder of her team was struggling with containing Peso. A dark shape warbled through the air and struck at Dyr, the man blocking the attack without even looking.

"Not going to work twice, doll," he slurred, turning half-lidded eyes towards piercing golden orbs. "Now let's see what else I remember… He called you Blake, you know Adam on a first name basis, and since you do…" Dyr mumbled. He shoved her weapon to the side, back handed her and then quickly reached up and yanked the bow from her head, "you're also a faunus… Thought so, you fleckin' traitor."

He shoved her away, turning his eyes back to Ruby.

"Wait there just a minute, I'm going to go grab lunch…" he snarled, returning his attention to Blake and brandishing his axe.

Lunch? It took Ruby all of one second to recall one of the monikers Dyr had picked up during his time in the underworld. The Cannibal Carnivore… Oh crap, Blake!

She stood and whipped Crescent Rose in order to charge him, but the man casually lifted the barrel of his weapon and pulled the trigger. Three gooey projectiles sailed towards her, her instincts quickly kicking in to deflect the shots.

Only her instincts neglected to acknowledge that the ammunition he used was adhesive.

Ruby looked down at the three blobs pulsating on Crescent Rose and frowned.

"Ah, nuts…"

The explosives went off and she was sent hurtling down to the streets.

O-o-O

-VAF Intrepid-
-Concurrently, Twenty Minutes Prior-

"You know, I kinda liked it when people didn't bother me. I liked just standing here. Brooding. Alone," Francis snarled. The hair on the back of his neck prickled as a groggy bird faunus leaned up against the nearby window pane.

"Well, you've made this the brooding corner, so skooch; I need my turn," Kitsch replied back, trying to rub the dew from his eyes and sipping a mug of coffee.

The small crew had only just risen from their slumber, with the exception with Sven who had opted for the last watch of the ship while they sailed towards the heart of Basin. The flight had taken the better part of the night and the city proper had only come into view a few minutes ago. They were still about ten minutes out.

Adam had scoured the ship for breakfast material once everyone realized that they'd forgotten to prepare for an over-the-night trip. There were a few cups of coffee and some complimentary snacks, but nothing larger. Hell, Francis was still amazed that the damn ship hadn't run out of fuel, let alone having enough food to tide the five over.

"Besides, that Island kid is a real ass right now," the bird faunus crowed, scowling.

"He's an ass in general, it's only when he's too tired to pay any actual attention that he becomes completely unbearable…" Francis chuckled back.

It was surreal what was happening. He was flying with his childhood hero to save someone he barely knew, purely because she was also a faunus…

Well, I assume she is… But I don't know anything for sure…

Francis rubbed in his right eye, giving a thick yawn as he did so.

"So, you know Adam?" Kitsch asked, giving the sheep boy a curious eyeing.

Francis blinked, "I… yes… sort of…"

He turned around and slumped against the barrier between himself and the window, gangly legs outstretched.

"He saved my life a few years back… Kinda gave me a bit of advice that kept me going for the last few years too…"

Kitsch hummed in agreement, "He'll do that for you. He's a really great man, means well, but I'm worried about him…"

"Worried about him?" Francis asked, shifting to look at the hawk.

"Yeah. He's been getting… flabby. In the head," Kitsch added a finger to the forehead for emphasis. "The first time I heard him utter the name Blake was back on the train car that we met your… humans. I mean, I've heard him bitch about Dyr before, but he barely uttered a thing about the person that came after the infamous 'Lush Tongue of the White Fang'. Then after he saw her again, after that mission he was never quite… right again…"

Francis listened to what Kitsch had to say. Having concern for a commanding officer was commendable… and worrying about someone like Adam was already high up on the young man's priority list.

"Listen kiddo, we're the only other two faunus on this little trip. I know Dyr's one of us, but he's just a lost soul," the bird man continued. "I don't want Adam to do anything drastic. We're already up a creek with the Fang, and I want to get us back in their good graces. And that means taking Dyr alive…"

The sheep boy did a double-take, "What?"

"The higher ups want the bastard alive. It's a PR angle apparently; if the Fang can capture him now, we can claim we aided in the apprehension of the man behind Desol. Gets us more attention, get a wave of new recruits from that, we execute him quietly so he's not a pain in our side anymore and blamo, we have a new army in the makings after that shit that went down a while back that dug us the hole we're in now."

Francis furrowed his brow, mumbling, "Make the White Fang stronger?"

"Yep," Kitsch replied flat, "and then people like you don't need to suffer anymore. We'll have enough people to make real change. Whatever Dyr's up to, I don't think he expected something like this ever help the Fang. We just gotta nab him, kick back, and let the hierarchy do the rest. Then, when the revolution comes, those horns of yours will become famous. 'Protector of the Peace, Deleter of Dyr, Forger of the Faunus'," the bird man mimicked, weaving his hands in the air like a banner. "A real hero, kiddo, and all before you hit puberty!"

The sheep boy rolled his eyes as Kitsch laughed.

"Yeah, I'll believe that when I see it…" Francis muttered.

Me, a hero? I just want my mom to have a happy life… I just want to have a happy life…

"But I need your help kiddo. Adam being… off isn't exactly putting me at ease. I'm worried he might try something stupid, and I want your word you'll keep him from getting us dragged into any more problems… Think you could do that for me?" Kitsch finished, peering at the boy expectantly.

Francis narrowed his eyes, "I… I owe a lot to Adam… Why would I help you?"

"Because we're all in this together… We faunus have to stick close, can't let norms roll us over," the bird man answered, stepping away from the barrier. "I'll leave you to stew on it. You're a smart kid, I know you'll make the right choice."

Kitsch walked.

"Can't let norms roll us over."

Francis' brow furrowed.

"I see them making the biggest mistakes… see myself making the biggest mistakes…"

He shooks his head.

"Or isss sheep-faunus-boy having sssecond thoughtsss about hurting his own kind?"

He grit his teeth and shook his head once more.

"Francy!"

DAMNIT VOICES GET OUT OF MY HEAD!

"Francy!"

Francis blinked.

"Frraaaannncyyy!"

The faunus sighed. Okay, guess that one isn't in my head…

"What is it Lux?"

The intrepid mintette bounced his way to sitting on the banister next to Francis.

"Sven said that we've got about fifteen minutes till we get into the city, so you should probably gear up!"

Francis groaned, rubbing his temple. Eyes on the mission, Francis. Can't let this stuff get in the way right now.

"Okay, thanks," he responded, standing upright. He pushed away from the window and waltzed over to where his gear had been packed, next to the flight control panel that Sven and Okdes were manning.

Okdes was awash in his freshly polished armor, sword and shield strapped and ready.

Sven, on the other hand, looked like he was about ready to collapse, black bags hanging under his dulled green eyes and his lips barely managing his usual trademark smirk.

"Rough night, palm-leaner?" Francis asked, hefting out Lucid Vindicator and giving it a check over, sliding out the bolt and staring down the barrel. The slur flew from his lips freely, relaxed.

"Start callin' me that an' there's no end to the amount of racist slurs I can sling a'h you…" Sven sneered, his tone immediately venomous. He added for emphasis, "…hay-breath."

Francis looked up, snarling, though he made very little move to counter the remark. It was too early to get into a shouting match.

"I wond'r if this is w'at Yang felt w'en Eins died…" Sven mused aloud, his normal relaxed demeanor returning. "I'm friggen miser'ble…" Sven slurred, his speech languid.

"I told you I was willing to take both shifts," Okdes noted.

"An' I told ya, 's'long as Rube's's in danger, I'm gettin' us there as fast as possible," Sven explained. For a moment his smirk deepened, "Should'ave seen it; few figh'ers swung by las' nigh' and ask'd 'bout where we were headin'. Talked me way out'o' it, but no one was awake ta watch. Real shame, ya ask me."

Both the leader and Francis shook their heads.

"Actually, that reminds me; have we even called RWBY yet? I mean, we can't just surprise them, can we?" Francis asked, blowing out the barrel one last time before replacing the bolt and shouldering the rifle.

"Communications are blacked out when teams are on missions. Once they're out on assignment, word from anyone not involved is blocked and held until they return. We're not technically involved, so we can't talk with them until we're face to face," Okdes explained. "Did you sleep well?"

"Better than I expected," was all the sheep faunus had to say in return.

Moments of quiet passed by them, Francis eventually taking the initiative and heading to a comfortable seat to wait out the remaining few minutes of flight. That is until Adam came jogging up to them, face still masked, lips curved in a frown.

"News, now," he ordered.

"Jeez, does no one ask politely an'more?" Sven groaned, flipping a switch on his console. The monitors around the flight deck flickered on, the holographic projections bathing the room in hushed blue light.

"We are receiving live footage of an escalating fight downtown…"

The words of the news anchor were drowned out as the six airship members watched the screen. A flurry of colors were duking it out across the rooftops of Basin, White, Yellow and Black bashing against brown, grey and an occasional green.

Silence fell over them as they watched.

"…Where's Ruby?" Sven eeped out, his brow twitching.

"That communication blackout, is there any way around it?" Francis asked, feeling the first hits of adrenaline fleeing into his system.

"Not that I know of…" Okdes muttered. "Unless…"

"I'm swingin' o'er tha'h way. Ev'ryone, ready yerselves," Sven bawled, jerking the control yolk to the left.

"How do you plan on finding them? I know it's not exactly easy to find people in a city from the air, even if they are fighting," Adam asked.

"The report'r mentioned a 'igh-rise on fire and I'm pret'y sure tha'h we'll see tha news choppers," Sven hashed back.

"Do it," Okdes confirmed, stepping to another panel. Francis watched him fumble with it before smiling.

"In the meantime, I have an idea," the knight grinned.

O-o-O

-Past-
-Suggested Listening: "Vim and Vigor", KINGDOM HEARTS HD 2.5 ReMIX OST-

This is the dumbest idea he's ever had.

A neon sign. That was his plan. A big light bulb.

Well, to be fair, it was more a big digital billboard.

But still, it doesn't exactly keep this operation subtle.

Francis scowled as he hooked himself onto the rappelling rope that Lux had jury-rigged for them. For all the irritation his partner's mental handicap could cause, the boy knew his stuff about climbing.

"Message 's set. We're go fer launch!" Sven's voice bounced over the ship's internal radio.

Francis swallowed, looking out the shattered window. It had been a necessity, as the only other exit was set to open upon landing, and neither had exactly been ideal for repelling.

"We are so dead when we get back to Beacon…" the faunus muttered dryly.

"Well, no one can stop us now but us," Kitsch replied, a crooked grin marring his features. "No need to worry about the future!"

Francis looked to the bird man with deadpan eyes. The two were nearer the middle of the window's broken frame, wedged between Adam on Kitsch's left and Okdes and Lux to Francis' right. Wind whipped at their faces, though it slowed as the airship angled itself over the city. The broadside of the ship was faced towards the nearing battle, holographic message prominently displayed towards the dancing dots that consisted Team RWBY and two other assailants.

Sven came barreling down the corridor, fastening one of his guns to his hip with a brief hop on one leg. He slid past Okdes and patted the armored man on the shoulder, "Good ta go on yer call chief!"

"What does the message say?" Lux asked, brow quirked.

"Ah, an ol' in-joke tweenst me and Rubes. She'll get the message, Yang too," he explained, fastening himself to a prepared tether.

"Perfect," Okdes nodded, "Now, on my coma-"

Adam and Kitsch jumped out, plummeting into the sun-swept city without hesitation.

The four members of FOSL just watched, stunned.

"Oh, to hell with it," their leader muttered. "JUST GO!"

Francis stepped off the lip of the window, feeling the contents of his stomach bounce against his throat as gravity dragged him down and down. The cord around his waist snapped taut just before his feet touched the ground of a nearby rooftop, giving him a safe landing. The remainder of his team touched down next to him, each of them slipping off the ropes as soon as they could.

The sheep faunus looked up to see Adam and Kitsch already bolting over the rooftops towards the fight.

"Lousy sons of a… Keep an eye on them!" Okdes growled, struggling briefly with removing his harness.

"On it!" Sven shouted, racing off after them. Silver and black erupted from his boots as he skidded on after the duo.

"Adam's trying to help!" Francis hissed, eyes narrowing at the implication of betrayal.

"He's still a known terrorist. I wouldn't have come if I didn't think there was a serious risk to team RWBY's safety! Now go!" Okdes snapped back.

Francis flinched at the booming voice before shaking his head and taking off in a sprint, following behind Lux.

They neared the battle, the sounds of war washing past them, as well as the smell of spent gunpowder and dust. It appeared that Adam was already locked in a heated fight with another faunus, aided by that girl Blake. Kitsch had joined a fight to the right of Adam, aiding Yang and Weiss against a tattered looking terrorist of a man. There was no sign of Ruby.

"SVEN DAMNIT. DID YOU HAVE TO PUT IT UP ON A FREAKING AIRSHIP?!"

Yang's distant shout caused Francis to hazard a glance back at the airship.

'Yang fried the pickle'… What the hell kinda message is that?!

He wasn't able to elaborate on his own thoughts as Lux grabbed his hand and jumped the gap between buildings. Lux's weapon, Glacial Flight, swapped from its regular ice picks into grappling-hook formation. A flick and a twirl and the micro-fiber wire swung them onto the rooftop across the street.

There was little time to react as Adam came staggering back, grabbing his side.

"Yer all washed up Taurus! Got nothin'!"

Francis looked up to find a wolf faunus staring in Adam's direction, the glare overlapping with Lux and himself.

Dyr.

"Sssthinkin' you can come an' ruin everythin' I been planning? Go… up yerself!" the canine's words were slurred and his stance was warbling, all indications of being inebriated. The worst part, though, was that this only seemed to make the man even more imposing, like a cornered snake.

"Frack! Goddamn you! Tha's no'h 'appenin' again!"

Sven's scream momentarily distracted Francis' attention. He craned his neck to see Sven blade locked with one that flickered in from the air itself.

"Dyr, Anguisss thought you sssaid you could handle thisss on your own…"

The air shimmered around Sven, revealing the lithe, reptilian form of Anguis. The assassin had a wrist blade crossed with Sven's guns and another poised to strike.

"Would have been easy if mister bullheaded hadn't butted in," Dyr hicked. A shadow rushed in from the side as Dyr spoke. He lifted his weapon and smoothly blocked the blow. "WHAT DID I TELL YOU, BITCH? YOUS A CAT WITH OLD TRICKS!" He broke their weapon lock and grabbed Blake by the collar, pulling her close and slamming his forehead into hers.

Dyr opened his maw and moved to bite at Blake's neck just as a grappling hook slammed into his temple. Blake broke from his grasp and stumbled back, holding Gambol Shroud defensively.

Francis followed the recoiling grappling hook to a very cross looking Lux.

"No one hurts my friends… or friends of friends… or friends of friends of friends!" Lux chided, words tumbling from his mouth.

Dyr growled and looked pointedly at Lux and Francis.

"Anguis, take care of Adam's friends here. Peso and I can finish the rest," the wolf faunus crowed, eyes turning to focus on Blake and Adam.

"Gladly," Anguis cooed. Just as Sven's eyes flickered with wear, Anguis slipped under his arms and held its other knife to his throat. It looked over at Lux and Francis,"We meet again so sssoon sheep faunus boy… come and get your friend here!"

With a dry laugh Anguis hopped off the ledge and down to the street below.

"Sven!"

Lux and Francis turned to find Okdes climbing the building behind him. Not graced with a faster way of traveling, the knight had to lumber around in his unwieldy armor.

He took a deep breath, panting out, "Lux, you and I are better at crowd control. We'll help up here. Francis, get Kitsch and go after Sven. Got it?"

Francis did a double take.

"You want me to go save Sven?"

Okdes growled, "That was an order, carry it out."

The sheep faunus looked at the growing chaos; Yang, Weiss and Kitsch trading blows with a robot wearing tatters, Blake and Adam warring with a drunk extremist, Sven kidnapped by a murderous sociopath.

The world was a cacophony.

"Fine!" Francis yelled, running up to Kitsch. The birdman had been shoved back during the fight with Peso, his feathers ruffled. Francis grabbed his shoulder, making the older faunus jump. "C'mon, we've got an asshole in distress downstairs!"

Kitsch looked between the fight with Peso and the lip of the building. He rolled his eyes and nodded before the two chased after Sven.

You owe me big time, Islander!

O-o-O

-Present-

Ruby's had awoken only a few minutes ago to find everything going to hell in a hand basket.

Lux, Okdes, Yang and Peso absolutely destroying a nearby building by sheer force of indirect combat, Sven held at the edge of Anguis' blade, Anguis at the tip of Kitsch's trident, all of them under the gaze of Francis' rifle, and Dyr locked tightly with Adam, flanked by Weiss and Blake.

A natural low permeated each of the combatants like a bulbous rot, slowing each battle to a crawl.

"So…" Ruby asked slowly, her voice drawling over her word. "What exactly is going on here?"

Without missing a beat, Lux shouted, "We came to help you!"

"Yeah, 'ey there Rubes," Sven waved. Anguis pulled back again on the knife and his mouth clamped shut.

"Ruby, are you okay?" Weiss immediately asked, her head snapping with concern for her leader.

"I'm fine Weiss, though why is Ada-?"

"DYR I NEED YOUR HELP!"

All eyes whipped over to the redheaded bull faunus that had shouted those words, surprise etched into each pair.

"Eh… eh… what?" Dyr sputtered, his drunken demeanor shrinking.

"What?!" The harsher reply came from Kitsch, whose brow was pointed and crumpled.

"What?" Francis echoed, his eye twitching.

Everyone watched carefully as Adam stood to his full height, sheathing wilt and blush.

"Blake, Dyr…" Adam began slowly. He turned to his then-partner and nodded. "Kitsch… This was the only chance I had to get all four of you in the same place…"

Guards around the fight began to drop.

"What the hell yous doin' here, Taurus?" Dyr slurred, throwing a confused finger towards the bull faunus.

"I came here to ask for your help in dismantling the White Fang," Adam explained evenly.

"W-what?!" Kitsch cawed, jaw wide. The same followed suit from Blake and Dyr.

"The Fang is in shambles and it's already done far more damage than good, especially with the Torchwick alliance. I learned that the hard way…" Adam's voice fell to a whisper as he turned to Blake.

Blake's eyes softened and she put a hand over her chest, gripping her collar, "Adam…"

"I'm going to deconstruct it," he seethed. "I'm going to build it back into what it once was. I'm going to fix it, and to do that I need all the help I can get!" Adam looked Dyr straight in the eyes, as best as one can through a mask, "This is what Blake wanted to show me, and it's only been recently that I've started listening… I know she'll help me, and I know Kitsch wants what's best for the faunus, but I can't just rely on those two alone. I know you and I disagree on just about everything, but I can trust you. You've never told one as long as I've known you." Adam folded on to his knees and rested a palm on his thighs. He bowed his head, "will you help me?"

Quiet whipped through the street, even the distant roar of police sirens dulled by the stillness in the air.

"He doesn't lie, but you do Taurus!" Kitsch screamed, his eyes wide, panicked. "What the hell is all this? You're planning on betraying the Fang?! We came here to kill him!"

Adam was quiet, merely bowing his head even more at the disgruntled words.

"Y-y-you…" Dyr's lips quirked. "You think I'm going to work to help the humans? Screw you, Adam!"

Adam's eyes flashed upwards and again he was on his feet.

"For God's sake Dyr, give it up! A grudge can only last so long!" Taurus snarled, biting and cutting his hand sideways.

"This isn't about the grud-"

"The hell it isn't! They were going to die anyway, it was a mercy killing and you know that!"

"What do you know?! You weren't even there you flecker!" Dyr cried, slobber escaping from his jaw. "Everything, gone, and humans were to blame! I'm not taking that! Not anymore!"

"You're deluded!"

"And you can't see the desert where the grass is!"

The shouting stopped. The two men stared. Dyr began to walk.

"I'm not going to sit here and listen to drabble. None of you are worth my time! I came here to do what I needed, and I'm gone," Dyr said with slash of his hand.

He pointed his weapon at the ground and fired. The three globules stuck into the sandy road before detonating, sending a fine mist of sand into the air. When it receded, Dyr was gone.

"Adam…" Blake said again, walking up towards the dejected man. He turned to her, lips still curved down.

"You… think… will you help me, Blake?" he asked. She smiled.

"I… I'd be happy to… though maybe we can keep the violence to a minimum, okay?" she chuckled. He nodded.

"Oi, what kind'ov an employer is tha'? Leave 'iz men to do the dirty work. No class that man," Peso chuckled, swinging down to stand at the base of the building he had been hanging from. "Well, looks like I've got ta finish the job. Promised to 'elp, what a load o' crock that was…"

And with that the terrorist hefted out an A-23 Eris Rocket Launcher and began firing.

O-o-O

-Present-

Francis stood stock still.

Adam is betraying the White Fang?

The last two days had been borderline surreal for the sheep faunus, punctuated perfectly by Dyr literally rage-quitting the fight mid-battle.

The fight to his left resumed when Peso dropped down and attacked the remaining hunters, but Francis' brain was beginning to fry.

Too much. This is all too much, happening too fast, in too few days. Is this what it's like being a hunter? Am I going to be stuck with Lux having bizarre little journeys for the next four years? What have I gotten myself into?!

"Ehhem."

Francis broke from his sudden midlife crisis (at seventeen) to see Anguis still holding a knife to Sven's throat. Kitsch, for his part, seemed just as broken, if not more so than Francis by recent events.

"Yes, hello, hossstage…" Anguis coughed, a frown decorating the snake faunus' face.

"I… I don't have time for this… Kill him if you want!" Francis snapped.

Too many thoughts, too much… I just can't…

"Oi! Wha'dya mean 'Kill 'im if ya want'? I'm yer bleedin' teammate for cripes sake!" Sven shouted, dejected.

"I mean you're an asshole who doesn't know when to shut up!" Francis spat back.

"And yer worse than those kids tha'h broke yer 'orn!" Sven returned, eyes bugging. "Y'ah, Okdes told me, tol' me an' Lux ta keep it secret, tha'h you needed time. Well lookie 'ere! I'm about to GODDAMN DIE! I'd say tha time fer time is out!"

He… that bastard… Okdes.

Francis' jaw clenched, his aim floating more towards Sven than Anguis.

All it would take is one shot. One, good shot and I'm done with him. I should have taken it in the forest…

"I'm not like those kids… I'm not like those idiots! I'm not a turncoat to my own kind!" Francis snarled, knuckles whitening around the wooden grip, barrel now solely focused on the Islander's chest.

Silence wafted over the battlefield, whatever conflict between the others drowned out by the quiet wave.

"I 'ate you, y'kno'…"

Francis' aim dropped just a bit as the confession dropped from Sven's lips.

"W-what?" the faunus asked, brow twitching, confused.

Even against his captor, Sven struggled to straighten himself, pushing out his chest defiantly against the blade at his throat. "Yer a littl' brat 'oo thinks the world owes 'im simply because 'ee 'ad a bad child'ood!" Sven spat, snout flaring. "But guess what?! Ev'ryone thinks tha' from time to time! We ge'h o'er it! The worl' owes us shite and we deserv' shite in kind! So suck it up an' deal wit' it!"

The sheep boy's muscles pulled in fury, his finger itching to squeeze the trigger, "You've got crap to talk about Sven! My life was terrible and the only saving graces were the other faunus!"

"Oh boo-'oo! First worl' problems, eh?!" the redhead launched back. "You 'sume tha' I've not worked a 'ard day in me life, ah? Y'ar litr'ly a reverse-racist, y'kno' 'ow terrible tha' is?!"

Francis flinched, barrel dropping even more to the wayside, "Racist?! You're calling me a racist?!"

"Ain't exac'ly callin' ya queen o' Menagerie, now am I?!"

"I had nothing! Humanity earned every last bit of spite I have by taking my right to a happy life!"

"Yo' 'ave nothin'? What'dya 'ave now?! Thin' 'bout it, numbskull! Thin' 'bout all the good 'umans 'ave done fer ya!" Sven shouted, his cries weaker. His posture sunk against the knife against his trachea, blood seeping from a fresh wound, tears from his eyes. His speech became quieter, hushed though still loud enough to hear, "Okdes tol' me 'bout you an' 'im talkin'… 'ow he tried to 'elp ya… An' poor Luxy looks e'erywhich way ta get closer to ya…"

Sven took a deep breath before leveling his green eyes with Francis' earthy browns, "An' I scream in yer ear 'cause that's tha only way I kno' 'ow ta be yer friend… Because tha's w'at we're… yer friends arse'ole…"

Lucid Vindicator's barrel bit into the dusty street as it became a prop for the shaking Francis.

"You… you're lying!" Francis spat. The kids in the alley… the stones, the sticks… the fists and taunts… all those things rung around in his head; the one defining moment of his childhood bouncing between his ears relentlessly trying to squelch the growing doubt in his mind.

"Real'y now? Am I?" the Islander asked, teeth gnashing. "We star'ed out fightin'! We're both grea'h figh'ers! 'Ell! You an' I are the best in Beacon, aren' we?" Sven laughed, pompous as his declaration was. "We're on tha best damn team, 'member? Makes sense we figh'! It's instinct! Faunus, 'uman, we've all go'h it, and our instict tells us that fightin' the other'll make us stronger, right? We're friends because we 'ate each o'her arsehole, now get me the godamned 'ell outta this!"

Francis grimaced as the thickest of his walls crumbled. Call it what he would later; a moment of weakness, a moment of strength, a moment of lunacy, but Francis let out an ear-shattering screech, lifted Lucid Vindicator, and fired a bullet right between Anguis' eyes.

The serpent, who'd been amusedly watching the whole exchange, twitched in surprise as the dust-infused round bounced off its aura and forced it to stagger back. The bladed syringe at Sven's through cut a jagged line across the boy's skin, a torrent of blood escaping the wound but also freeing him from the hold. Sven fell and rolled out of combat, one hand clutching his gouged neck as he fled.

Francis lowered the weapon and glared daggers at the snake faunus, though his lids drooped ever so slightly.

"Traitor!" Anguis hissed. "We're your own kind!"

-Suggested Listening: "I'm My Own Master Now (Spirit of the Wolf Mix)", MonoChromium-
-Alt Listening: "I'm My Own Master Now", Metal Gear Rising OST-

"Guess I have to draw my line in the sand…" Francis murmured. "I've been an idiot about all of this. Kept my mind in the past, let it hold me down…" he glanced at his hands, the open palms looking back at him, Lucid Vindicator awkwardly balanced on his fingers. "I didn't look forward, no purpose, just fighting blindly; blinded to the fact I had real friends…" his grip clenched and he lifted his head.

Anguis stood, poised for attack, behind it, Kitsch readied to strike, though his arms were slacking, his eyes duller. Francis pulled the bolt back on Vindicator and chambered the next round.

"I don-… I don't know what I'm going to do anymore… But that's not important now. I'm going to protect the people who care about me… Time to start a new chapter…" Francis aimed the barrel at Anguis. "My chapter…"

Francis fired a second time, the bullet lancing into Anguis' gut. The snake faunus toppled to the side in pain, using the movement to dodge an incoming stab from Kitsch's trident.

Anguis lashed out with both of its blades, forcing Kitsch to flap his wings and stagger backwards, attempting to block the jabs with his polearm. The snake faunus broke past his defenses before either he or Francis could react. In panic his right wing tried to shield him, only to be nicked by Anguis's poisoned blades.

Kitsch managed a garbled, "Oh for the love ofgagggg…" before he collapsed into a paralyzed heap.

In response Francis fired again, keeping his distance while trying to get the assassin away from his downed ally. Anguis back flipped over the fuchsia-streaked projectiles, twist on one hand and dexterously throwing a pair of green darts. Francis sidestepped, firing off the last round in his magazine and catching Anguis in the leg.

The snake faunus fell on its face but twisted so as to remain moving across the street. What Anguis hadn't been expecting was to wind up with its face right where Sven had taken his retreat.

"Hi there," Sven grinned. He raised a single Faux Claw and clamped down on the trigger. Anguis was met by a flurry of low-caliber bullets burning into its face. It staggered back, gripping its eyes as its aura flared against the assault.

The snake Faunus bumped into one of the many parked vehicles along the road, abandoned by those fleeing the fight. This one just so happened to be a dust tanker.

Another body slammed into Anguis' side. Peso unfurled, the metallic exoskeleton of his proxy jerking and twitching with strain at the movement.

"Is tha-tha-tha-that all ye got? Ehehehe…"

Francis winced. The distortions in the man's voice were grating.

Okdes limped up to Franics, Xilifin's rifle form trained on the robotic monstrosity.

"We need to end this fast. We're going to be swarmed with cops in just a minute and explaining this mess will be a nightmare…" the leader explained.

"What should we do?" Sven asked, sliding up next to the two, a Faux claw pointed at the huddled villains.

Francis looked between the two partners.

"I can cover our escape," he said dryly.

Without waiting for a response he lifted the freshly reloaded Lucid Vindicator, pumped as much aura as he could into it, and fired.

The bullet flew right into Peso's head, which proceeded to explode in a shower of sparks. Beyond that, the round passed through Anguis' shoulder before puncturing the dust tanker.

Anguis barely got a moment to hiss in pain before the tanker ignited.

O-o-O

-VAF Intrepid-
-Present, Ten minutes after the fight in Basin-

"Is everyone okay?" Ruby asked, rubbing her neck.

The adrenaline rush of battle had faded a few minutes ago and her fall from the roof was beginning to creep up on her. She looked around the room, finding the nine members of their escaping crew in similar states of wear and disrepair.

"Fine here…" Weiss noted quietly, rubbing her eyes.

Yang threw here a quiet thumbs up and Blake nodded, her eyes lost over towards her old partner.

"We're all good over here," Okdes sighed, taking off his breastplate and laying it on the floor.

Ruby nodded.

"Was the tanker really necessary?" Adam hissed from the corner he'd inhabited.

"It was the fastest way to cover our tracks. We're not exactly here on official assignment…" Francis replied tiredly. His eyes were dead, almost completely unmoving.

"I couldn't get Kitsch out of there! Do you know what the police'll do to him?" Adam shot back.

"Adam."

The voice came from Blake. "Once we file our official report we can get Kitsch out of prison faster," she explained. "Lifting someone unconscious to an airship, especially while running from the cops, isn't exactly an easy thing to do."

Adam growled and punched the wall.

"I… I should have handled this better… I should have told him what I was planning to do…"

"Y'ah, great job there. When wer' ya gonna tell us yo' were tryin' ta recruit wolf-man?" Sven asked snidely.

"I wasn't sure it was going to work, so I didn't tell anyone…" the bull faunus explained, sliding down against the wall. "But now… damnit all…"

Ruby watched the man, what energy she had left being siphoned into her curiosity around the events that had only just happened a few minutes ago.

"So…" Ruby started, turning to Team FOSL. "You guys stole an airship…?"

"Uh… Borrowed…" Okdes responded, scratching his head.

"Right, and since when does 'borrowing' involve blasting out one of the windows?" Yang asked, nodding to the completely open section of glass wall. The members of FOSL all shrunk in response. "And while we're on that note; Sven, what the hell was with that message?!" she shrilled, her eyes going red.

"Wha'h? We wanted ya ta know 'elp was on the spoke!" Sven stuttered.

Ruby rose an eyebrow.

"You though that the pickle incident was a good way of telling us you were here? Not a sign that said that 'Team FOSL was here to help' or something like that?" Ruby prodded.

"Tha's no'h my style, Rubes, an' you know it!" the Islander shot back. "'Sides, we saved yer sorry asses, shoul' be thankin' us!"

Yang rolled her eyes at the comment.

"Did your investigation turn anything up?" Okdes asked, changing the conversation.

Ruby bounced her head on her shoulders.

"Yes and no. We at least have confirmation that Dyr's in on this. And that Anguis was getting its poisons from Sonnegift chemicals," the red-streaked leader explained. "But we lost a datapad that could have told us more."

"Not quite, actually," Weiss butted in, unfolding her hand. In it was what looked to be a shard of broken glass with a metallic-white border. "I managed to hold onto this and pocket it. I know this model of datapad, it'll have the memory chip still in it. We can try and siphon information off from that."

Ruby breathed out a sigh of relief, "Weiss, you're a life saver."

The heiress held her chin up proudly, "Why, of course I am! Why wouldn't I be?" The snarky remark was followed by a glare, "the only question is why you pushed me out of that building. I could have died!"

Ruby recoiled from the suddenly chiding voice.

"Hey! We were going that way anyway and if anything were to have happened I'd have caught you!" the leader defended, waving her arms.

"That doesn't stop it from being pointlessly dangerous, dolt!" Weiss shrilled, slapping the back of Ruby's head. The reaper gave out a pitiful whimper and ducked her head with her hands on top of it. She looked like a cowering puppy.

Weiss calmed down and sighed, pinching her nose, "And God knows the amount of paper work we're going to have to go through when we get home. So many broken windows, a destroyed dust tanker-That was a Schnee tanker, by the way, thanks for that-, and on top of that a stolen airship, also with a broken window. My head's already spinning…"

"I'll take on some of that paperwork with you," Okdes quickly propped in. "It was my idea to come here anyway, make sure Sir Broodsalot didn't hurt any of you with surprised reinforcements for Dyr. Really, I guess I wasn't too far off the mark… just not the way I thought…"

The knight looked over at the stoic samurai, watching as the bull faunus tore at the hair between his horns.

"A lot happened didn't it?" Lux asked. The boy was lying on the floor, letting one of his grappling hooks dangle lifelessly in front of his face as he pawed at it.

"Yeah, it did Lux, it did…" Yang replied, tired.

"I just want to go home…" he said back.

"I think that would be for the best…" Ruby yawned. "Whoever's flying, set course for home…"

Okdes stood, cracking his back, "I'll get us out of this holding pattern. We'll be home sometime tomorrow…"

"Good… I need a nap…" Ruby sighed. Weiss nodded next to her before shuffling off their shared seat to the next bench over. The heiress laid down, as did Ruby, exhausted.

The day had been a mess. Hopefully they could take something worthwhile out of the anarchy.

O-o-O

-Present-
-Basin Police Wagon-
-Suggested Listening: "Why So Serious? The Joker Theme" The Dark Knight OST-

"They left you behind…"

"I know."

"Your friend betrayed you…"

"I know."

"…Betrayed your home…"

"I know."

"…Betrayed your kin…"

"…I… I know…"

"The world; flipped on the head…"

"I know… just, shut up, okay?"

"Quiet doesssn't come to me bird boy. Sssolutions do…"

"…"

"…"

"You're lying."

"About?"

"Having a solution."

"There are many sssolutionsss to many problemsss. Why wouldn't I have at leassst one option?"

"I… No…"

"…"

"…W-what kind of solution are you getting at…?" Kitsch asked, leaning forward against his shackles. The bindings kept him from going too far in the back of the police wagon.

"Not a sssolution, bird boy… The sssolution," Anguis hissed.

"Sounds… very… final…" Kitsch muttered, his eyes empty.

The snake faunus smiled.

"It will be," it cooed, leaning back. "I can tell you all about it on our way home…"

Kitsch looked up from his chains, "We're heading to jail…"

"No-no-no, you'd do no good asss jailbird. Snakesss; good at getting out of holesss…" Anguis grinned, pressing down on a small tracker concealed along its waist. "We jussst have to be… patient…"

The two shared an almost hypnotic stare.

"Plansss are alwaysss in place for bad sssitautionsss like thisss…"

"So… how long will it take?"

"Tick-tock-tick-tock…"

Kitsch narrowed his eyes as Anguis' speaking slowed.

"Tick… tock."

The air rippled and thunder erupted from every which way.

The van lurched and fire consumed them.

The officers were found dead minutes later. The back of the van had been emptied.

O-o-O

Author's Note:

Jesus… this chapter took me forever to get done… I think it's because I have a hard time dealing with Francis' character. I did such a terrible job introducing him… I can honestly say this is probably my weakest chapter to date. So much happens so quickly, and there's no real natural breaking point that I couldn't divide this up into multi-chapters… If anyone's confused, I apologize. This is a rough spot in the fic where there's fights, but it doesn't seem a lot is happening :/

Not to mention, I couldn't get this chapter to Ayami in enough time to edit, so it doesn't benefit from her input (though I have no idea if even she could have made something from this mess ._.;;)

Well a lot's happened in the last few weeks, both for me and for the fandom. I mean, we know the Kingdoms now, Neptune is doing his damndest to try and sink White Rose (NOT HAPPENING, COMPADRE), and Zwei happened. So I'm going to have to do some revision to the story to fit that. Things like Basin turning out to be Vacuo and Palisade (Lux's home Kingdom) turning out to be Atlas. Basin and Palisade will remain as cities in the Kingdoms, but I need to make sure that's clear in earlier chapters at some point.

Also, I've been working on a super awesome project with "The Inner Turmoil". I'm happy to announce that I'm the lead writer for "RWBY: Over the Seas", a fan project that hopes to rectify the issues present in RWBY currently (because God knows the writing in the actual show is taking a nosedive). Go check us out on our Facebook or on our Twitter ( RWBY_OTS)!

Before you ask, yes, that's one of the main reasons I've been busy and not working on this as much (aside from the fact that this is probably my weakest chapter yet). It's taken a hefty amount of time out of my already cramped schedule. However, if you're interested in being a part of it, like submitting a character design for us to use as a background character or Voice Acting, give us a look!

Also, newest character battle theme! :D

Francis Chispa's Battle Theme: "I'm My Own Master Now (Spirit of the Wolf Mix)", by MonoChromium

Oh, and it's RWBYS/Subversion's One Year birthday come Tuesday! Remember to reread the whole thing on that day to celebrate! It also proves I've managed a more than one-a-month schedule for this fanfic since I've had 16 (Plus) chapters within one year! Success! :D

I thank you for reading! Please remember to favorite, follow and review! :D

Zvarri! Peace out! :D

Chapter Stats:

Pages: 47

Words: 16,158